"The day is coming when a single carrot, freshly observed, will set off a revolution." Paul Cezanne

PepsiCo steps forward, saves 20 million pounds of waste

May 9, 2008

Pepsi announced that it has reduced the plastic used for a 500ml non-carbonated beverage bottle by 20 per cent, which, the company says “will eliminate approximately 20 million pounds of waste from the environment.” There will also be a 10 per cent reduction in the label size and a 5 per cent reduction in the shrink wrap film used to wrap the multi-packs, Pepsi said.

Robert Lewis, PepsiCo VP, said that the challenge had been to develop a lighter bottle that would provide the same shelf life, withstand the manufacturing and distribution process, and yet remain aesthetic.

The new lightweight bottles will be used for Lipton Iced Tea, Tropicana juice drinks, Aquafina FlavorSplash and Aquafina Alive; will be available in 12-packs and 24-packs; and will be on retailers’ shelves starting this month.

Reflecting the sentiments of many food and drink companies today Lewis said: “We’re constantly striving to make our packaging an even smaller part of the waste stream.”

The bigger challenge will be to see if bottling for carbonated beverages, a much larger segment of PepsiCo’s market, can be made more environmentally friendly.